How the Clintons failed to prevent 9/11

Bill Clinton is on the road promoting his latest book, the oddly titled, "Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World." We already know how Bill Clinton changed the world. The former president might as well be on a campaign tour. Bill Clinton doesn't need to sell books. He needs to get Hillary Clinton elected president.

The Clintons are itching to get back to the White House. Just as Hillary hitched her political wagons to her philandering husband in 1992, it's payback time. It's Hillary's turn.

Bill Clinton has said in interviews that his wife, once she is sworn in as president, will have the benefit of having the "first gentleman" by her side for advice. In other words, it's going to be another co-presidency, just as the first Clinton administration was from 1993-2001.

On the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, let's pause to think about what another Clinton presidency would mean for our national security. We don't have to look too far back. The road to 9/11 is well documented. Bill Clinton's indifference and incompetence as president set the stage for the devastating attack on U.S. soil.

The murder of 3,000 Americans six years ago was the culmination of an eight-year campaign against the United States by Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. Attack after attack went unanswered by Bill Clinton until they escalated to the horrific events of 9/11. While the assault by Muslim fanatics came nine months into George W. Bush’s presidency, it was planned, rehearsed, financed and set into motion while Bill and Hillary Clinton occupied the White House.

The attacks of 9/11 were successful because our enemies sensed weakness in Clinton (and by extension, the United States). They were successful because Clinton was more interested in chasing a young intern around the Oval Office than protecting the United States. They were successful because Clinton failed to control illegal immigration, allowing terrorists to enter. Clinton defanged the CIA and FBI during his tenure in office. The attacks succeeded because the U.S. military rusted under an oblivious Democrat who put his faith in the United Nations to protect Americans.

The path to 9/11 was clearly delineated for anyone willing to pay attention. It was Bill Clinton's job to connect the dots and respond accordingly to protect American lives. He failed.

On Feb. 26, 1993 — 36 days into Bill Clinton's presidency — a bomb was detonated under the World Trade Center, killing six people and wounding 1,042 more. Clinton considered the plot to bring down one of the nation's most recognizable buildings as a law enforcement matter instead of the opening round of a global war to wipe out the Western civilization.

On Oct. 3, 1993, 19 Americans died and 84 were wounded in an ill-planned mission to capture the warlord Mohammed Aidid in Somalia. The bodies of American servicemen were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu. The failed mission was the basis of the best-selling book, "Black Hawk Down," later made into a movie. Instead of sending adequate troops to hunt down Aidid after the murder of U.S. soldiers, Clinton cut and run from Somalia. This sent a message to terrorists all over the world that the U.S. didn’t have the stomach to fight. Somalia remains a terrorist haven to this day.

On June 25, 1996, 19 Air Force personnel were killed and 300 Americans and others were wounded when terrorists drove a truck full of explosives into the Khobar Towers, a military housing complex in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

The Taliban came to power during the Clinton administration, capturing Kabul in September 1996. The Taliban gave Osama bin Laden sanctuary and assistance in planning his attacks on the U.S. Afghanistan became a terrorist haven under Bill Clinton's watch.

Bombs destroyed the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya on Aug. 7, 1998, killing 257 people, including 12 Americans, and injuring 5,000 others. Clinton was given evidence that Osama bin Laden was behind the bombings. Clinton knew bin Laden vowed to bring the war home to America. His response? Clinton ordered cruise missile strikes against empty terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and blew up an aspirin factory in Africa. Bin Laden would live to fight another day.

On Oct. 12, 2000, the USS Cole was attacked in the port of Aden in Yemen. Terrorists drove a speedboat full of explosives into the side of the ship, killing 17 sailors and wounding 39 more.

The Clinton record of fighting terrorism is abysmal. The warning signs were there all along. Bill and Hillary Clinton chose to ignore them. As a result, thousands of Americans died. That's something to think about as Bill Clinton's co-president, Hillary, vows to "bring back the Clinton years."

Are you willing to risk your life under another Clinton presidency?

(AP Photo/Kevin Sanders)